Electric toothbrush



May 31, 1932. c. B. I IEux` ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH l Filed sept. 8, 1930 1 y llllllflmbam'ls Liax ATTORNEY INVENTOR Patented May 31, '1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLEMENT B. LIEUX, F LAFAYETTE. LOUISIANA ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH A Application led September 8, 1930. Serial No. 480,583.

is detachable from the. handle so that a dif ferent brush may be attached 'andv operated by the motor driven shaft, wherein the shaft is oscillated or turned in two directions, wherein the brush is of a particular and peculiar nature but of a simpleV construction so that the same will operate on as well as between the teeth, wherein the device is provided with a guard for the brush for protecting the cheek of the user and further wherein the device shall beof a simple construction, easily and cheaply manufactured and thoroughly efficient for its purpose.

To the attainment of theforegoing the invention consists in the improvement herein after described and definitely claimed.

In the drawings; Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improvement when not in use. e

Figure 2 is a substantially central longitudinal sectional view through the hollow handle and guard for the brush.

Figure 3 isa transverse sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a similar sectional view on .the 3 line 4-4 of Figure 2.

As disclosed by Figure 1 of the drawings I plug in a wall socket covered Wires 1 which are connected to a small motor 2 of t e reversible type, the said motor having on its casing push buttons 3 for reversing the same. vWhen the device is not in use the motor is designed to be heldv by a clamp 4 against the Wall provided with the soc'ket. The motor operates a flexible shaft 5 arranged in a flexi- 0 ble casing 6. 1

The handle 7 of theiinprovelnent is in the nature of`a tube and may be vconstructed of any desired material. There is screwed on what I will term the rear end of the handle 5 a cap 8, the said cap having an opening through the rear face thereof to receive and hold the flexible casing 6, while the iiexible shaft 5 is adjustably connected by means 9 to one end of a shaft 10 which is journaled through openings 'provided by partitions 11 in the bore of the hollow handle 7. The shaft 10 has fixed thereon a collar 12 which is in Contact with the outer wall adjacent one end of the' hollow handle. This end of the handle is closed by a plug 14, which is screwed liti in said handle and the plug contacts with the collar 12 to hold the shaft 10 from longitudinal movementin the bearing openings provided therefor in the partitions 11. The second end of the shaft does not extend through the bearing therefor but this end is provided with a substantially triangular longitudinally extending bore 29. The second. end of the hollow handle is closed-by a threaded plug 15 on which is formed an outwardly 05 extending shield 1,6. The plug 15 has arranged centrally therethrough a sleeve 19 that has its outer end beaded and its second end held against the outer end of the plug 15 by an adjustably fixed collar 13. The sleeve 70 has its inner end formed with a triangular stem 30 that is received in the triangular shaped bore 29 of the shaft 10 and the sleeve 19 is designed to be received therein and to be frictionally engaged by a rod or stem 18 76 for a tooth cleaning brush 17. The rod or stem 18 is preferably in the nature of twisted wires and the tufts of the brush are passed between these wires so that the said tufts are in wave-shaped formation and whereby the enlarged and pointed portionsthereof may be received between the teeth yto clean the y same and the concaved portions will contact with thc tooth surface.

The construction and advantages of the improvement will, it is thought, be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art to which such invention relates. By pressing the buttons 3 ofv the reversible motor the shaft 5 will be caused to turn in two directions at the desire of the operator of the device.' One hand 'of the operator,`of course, grasps the -handle 7. The shield 16 effectively protects the inner surfaces of the cheeks of the user while the brush will effectively and quickly clean the users teeth.

It is to be understood that the features herein described-and illustrated are for thef purpose of explaining the nature of my invention and, therefore, areto be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described the invention, I claim: A hollow handle `for an electrically driven tooth brush, a shaft journaled therein having one' end terminating short of the adjacent end of the handle and provided with a triangular bore, a plug for closing said end of the the handle, a sleeve journaled centrally through the plug and held from longitudinal v movement therein, said sleeve having triangular stem to be received in the triangular bore of the shaft, in combination with means' for driving the shaft and a tooth brush having a stem to be frictionally received in the bore of the sleeve and a shield for the brush carried by the 1ast-named plug CLEMENT B. LIEUX. 

